Sunset Behind the Barn

Sunset Behind the Barn

Even though I grew up in the suburbs I was surrounded by farms, many in full production as dairy or truck farms growing acres of vegetables still in the 1960s. The nucleus of a long-time family farm was right across the street from our 1950s-era ranch house, the rambling house still standing with the milk house refitted as a rental but the chicken cook housing a few old vehicles and some chickens. The barn came down before I was old enough to have a chance to explore it, but most of these suburban neighborhoods with the curving streets and cars in driveways also had a farmhouse and an old barn somewhere in the mix.

I love those old barns, that tend to stand longer than the houses do, being built for brute strength to handle the weight of livestock, equipment and materials. At some point I find them alone and isolated, no farmhouse near, abandoned to the overgrown driveway and fields, but still they hold their ground.

I captured this sunset just driving along the road in another suburban development, just at the moment the sun was falling toward the horizon throwing everything into silhouette, a statement of sorts on the disappearing industry and lifestyle that was once the standard of the day.

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, visit my galleries of Photography on Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit “Custom Prints” for availability and terms. I'll be more than happy to make a print for you.

I used to work with a number of environmental groups, and I used this image in brochures and on websites to signify what was happening to farms and farming in our region and in our country. It just goes to show that when you’re driving along and something makes you want to stop and pull over to take a photo, you should do that.